Ski boot

ABSTRACT

AN IMPROVED SKI BOOT HAS A CURVED, FLEXIBLE SOLE TO PERMIT EASIER WALKING AND MORE RIGID ANCHORING TO A SKI BOOT BINDING APPARATUS.

Nov. 23, 1971 C. A. HANSON ET AL SKI BOOT Filed April 17, 1970 (PR/0f? ART} PR/0R ART) //vv/vr0/?s CHRIS A. HANSON ALDEN B. HANSON A TORNE) United States atent 3,621,591 Patented Nov. 23, 1971 US. Cl. 362.5 AL 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved ski boot has a curved, flexible sole to permit easier walking and more rigid anchoring to a ski boot binding apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to ski boots and, more particularly, to the configuration of the sole portion of a ski boot.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Ski boots are now generally constructed with extremely rigid, flat soles, a type of boot construction which has been considered necessary in the past in order to permit the boot to be firmly anchored to the surface of a ski. Firm, secure anchoring of the boot is required for safe, controlled skiing.

Construction of ski boots in this manner has several disadvantages, however. Boots having stiff soles are extremely difficult to walk in and sometimes cause the wearer to slip and fall as a result. A substantial amount of material is required to make the soles stiff, and consequently the boots tend to be quite heavy. Finally, flat soles do not always fit ifirmly against the surface of a ski, since many ski bindings have a heel plate which raises the heel of the boot away from the surface of the ski. This forces the toe of the boot downward toward the surface of the ski and can thus prevent the toe release mechanism from operating properly during a fall. In addition, as described below, raising of the heel leads to lateral instability of the ski boot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved ski boot which is light, flexible, and easy to walk in.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ski boot which is especially compatible with a ski binding having a raised heel plate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ski boot whose toe is relatively free to slide laterally during a fall.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ski boot which does not rock laterally when placed in a binding having a heel plate.

These and other objects are achieved in a ski boot having a sole which is narrowed at the arch to provide flexibility and reduce the overall weight of the boot. Since the sole of the boot has a certain degree of flexibility, walking is made considerably easier. Furthermore, when the boot is fitted into a ski binding with a heel plate, the base of the sole adopts a slight curvature such that the front portion is in contact with the surface of the ski over a considerable area. Thus, extreme pressure at the tip of the toe and lateral rocking of the boot are eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The construction and advantages of a ski boot in accordance with this invention will become clearer by reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a prior art ski boot mounted on a ski;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the ski boot shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a ski boot constructed in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A ski boot 10 constructed in accordance with the prior art and mounted on ski 12. is shown in FIG. 1. -In line with the usual construction, the sole 14 of boot 10 is rigid and has a flat bottom surface 16. The binding (not shown) which holds boot 10 firmly against the surface of ski 12 has a heel plate 18 upon which the heel portion 20 of boot 10 rests.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the sole 14 of ski boot 10 as it is mounted on ski 12. Numeral 18 designates the heel plate aflixed to ski 12, and numeral 22 designates the toe tip of sole 14.

FIG. 3 shows a boot 30 constructed in accordance with the invention and mounted on ski 12 and heel plate 18. Boot 30 has a sole 32 which comprises heel portion 34, flexible arch portion 36, and toe portion 38.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the bottom surface 16 of sole 14 does not lie flat on the surface of ski 12, and contact between ski 12 and sole 14 occurs mainly at toe tip 22 and heel plate 18. As a result, toe tip 22 tends to act as a fulcrum which allows a boot 10 to rock laterally on ski 12. This, of course, leads to instability and makes the ski diflicult to control. Even more important, the presence of heel plate 18, which lifts the sole 20 off ski 12, forces toe tip 22 downward against the surface of ski 12 and tends to prevent toe tip 22 from sliding sideways along the surface of ski 12 (in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 2). Thus, the operation of the safety toe release mechanism (not shown) is impaired, and it may not function properly during a fall.

These difficulties are overcome in a ski boot 30 constructed in accordance with the invention. As shown in FIG. 2., the flexible arch portion 36 of sole 32 is narrowed to a width which is much less than the width of toe portion 38 or the heel portion 34. Accordingly, the bottom surfaces 35 and 39 of, respectively, heel portion 34 and toe portion 38 are not maintained coplanar but can instead be bent into a curved configuration by flexing arch portion 36. The entire surface 39 of toe portion 38 is in contact with ski 12, and consequently n0 lateral rocking can occur. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a slight curvature is placed on bottom 39 near the toe of sole 32. The toe of boot 30 is thereby lifted from ski 12 and slides easily along the surface of ski 12 during operation of the toe release mechanism (not shown).

Finally, it is obvious from FIG. 3 that the flexibility of sole 32 makes boot 30 relatively easy to walk in and thereby reduces falls and injuries. Furthermore, the narrowing of the arch portion 36 reduces the quantity of material required to construct sole 32 and accordingly limits the overall weight of boot 30.

We claim:

1. A ski boot comprising a relatively rigid upper portion and a unitary one-piece sole having parallel sides attached thereto wherein the improvement lies in the construction of said sole comprising a heel portion of a first thickness and of substantial rigidity, a toe portion of a second thickness and of substantial rigidity, and a recessed portion forming an arch portion of a thickness less than said first and second thicknesses and of a thickness permitting fleXing and relative movement between said heel and said toe.

2-. An improved ski boot as in claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of said toe portion of said boot is curved sufficient from front to rear to permit a full lateral engagement of said surface with a ski while the toe end thereof is in spaced relation thereto.

4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

